Noma
by devotedx
Summary: A young girl whose family has been hit a hard blow by Kira comes to be interrogated and hopefully aid the team in Kira's capture. However, her odd determination makes an imprint on L. LxOc
1. Prelude

AN: This was an experimental writing style. The rest of the story will be in past tense.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters.

xxxx

She moves fluidly. That is the first thing he notices about her as she enters the room. She is rather short and thin; she looks a lot younger than she really is. Her hair is long and unkempt and she keeps brushing it out of her eyes. Her eyes. They are moss green and large. Too large for her face in fact, giving it an unbalanced quality and adding to her young appearance.

She is not beautiful. Her delicate frame and large eyes could let her pass as pretty, but she lacks certain key aspects of beauty. Her eyes are not framed by long lashes nor does she have a body only supermodels achieve. Her hair is brown, but it's thin and rather nondescript in it's color. Mud brown even at its best, never chestnut or mahogany. Despite all this, there's an ethereal quality to her. She seems like she could easily be a model for a fairy or elfin girl. Her features are a bit inhuman, a fraction unearthly.

Eira Griffith. An obviously Welsh name. She is about 18 or 19 years old- neither she nor anyone else is really sure of her age. She dresses simply, a t-shirt and jeans, and her only jewelry is a silver bracelet. However, her expression reveals her anxiety and possibly the reason for the rumpled clothing.

"Why don't you sit down?" One of the men offers her a chair. She stares at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, before taking the seat. Her body is present, but her mind lags behind. She scans the room and notices his stare. Rather than looking away, she stares back. There is a determination there, behind her eyes. Finally, her eyes flicker away and, noticing everyone else, she looks down. She nervously tucks her hair behind her ear.

She reminds him of the past, dusty books, and of mysteries unknown. She seems as if she would be more at home in a different era. The rush and fast pace of the present does not suit her, unlike his cold, modern demeanor.

She nervously glances up and notices eyes on her feet, which barely brush the carpet. Eira turns red and scoots forward on her seat until her feet are planted on the ground. She fiddles with the edge of her shirt and mumbles, "I had a small growth defect." Her comment successfully diverts all eyes and fills the room with an awkward silence.

No one says anything, and he itches to start the questioning. But, he promised to merely observe for the first session. Finally, Chief Yagami clears his throat and begins.

"We're going to have to ask you a few questions. If you feel uncomfortable answering any of them, please tell us and we'll move on to the next."

Her eyes quickly dart around to all the different faces in the room. They return to Yagami and she nods.

As the questioning begins, he notices her nervousness ebb slightly. She looks confused when the sweets are brought in and he's the only one eating them, but she doesn't comment. She's shy and soft-spoken, and she has to be asked to speak up a few times. Most of the time, she keeps her eyes down and rarely meets anyone else's. When she does look at someone, they tend to look away first. He can't think of why, though he only sees her profile from where he's seated. Before he realizes the answer, the questioning has ended and she is escorted out.

Then he sees. She's shy, but the interview proved something very important about her. She's intent on Kira's capture, and that resolute hardness leaked into her expression when she looked at someone. That unfaltering decisiveness was frightening because it reminded him of the one they were trying to capture. Both were ready to sacrifice whatever got in the way of their goal. They were running towards each other at full speed and couldn't care less what they ran down on their way.


	2. Examination

AN: Sorry this chapter took so long. I went on vacation for two weeks. I'm not so sure about this one though. It seems a little forced.

Also, doctors leaving medical tools in people during surgeries is a real problem. It actually occurs and can kill people.

xxx

Her nervousness was almost gone in the second questioning. The second and last questioning. Eira's answers in this interrogation would decide her fate. Namely whether she would work with the task force, though no one but L knew that yet. Light Yagami was also joining them this time and he had already been filled in on the previous session. L was eager to see Eira's reaction to the Second Kira's videos and Light's reaction to Eira's views and past.

Eira came in and sat down in the same seat as before. "Who is he?" She frowned slightly at the new face amongst them.

"Our newest member, Light Asahi." L replied. "He is the son of Soichiro, and I believe his deductive skills will aid us."

"Ah." She sized Light up, then looked back at L. "And you? I got everyone else's name and position, but I was never told who you are." Actually, she had gotten the fake names, but that was only for the security it gave the Task Force. L was quite sure she wasn't Kira. A small chance, but if she was Kira and acting, she would definitely be brilliant enough to find their real names anyways.

"You may call me Ryuzaki. Now we will move onto the questions. Are you ready? These will be more personal than the previous set."

She nodded and tucked back the length of hair that fell into her eyes.

"Give us some information about your family." L, of course, had already done a background check on Eira. However, the rest of the Task Force was getting the information from her simply because they would find it a more reliable source than where he obtained it.

She looked down again, and looked back up when she was sure she was composed. "It was me, my parents, and my two older sisters. I was abandoned as a child, too young to know my age or name. They took me in, and my eldest sister gave me a name. She..." She chuckled before continuing, "She obtained income in a rather... unorthodox way. She scammed people, rich people who could easily afford pricey cruises. My dad had a job, but it couldn't pay for the medical bills. It barely covered our everyday expenses."

"Medical bills?" Aizawa asked, speaking what was on the others minds. She looked down in remembrance.

"Brynne, the second oldest, was in a car crash. She went to the hospital and was fine, but the medical bills were too high. We were in danger of losing everything. That's when my oldest sister, Morgan, began scamming people. When she was caught, we were still able to finish paying off. Then Brynne had some issues. In the surgery after the crash, the doctors left a clamp in her. We only found out after her death. This happened a few weeks after Morgan was arrested. It was hard on my parents. They got a divorce, and I went to live with my mom. Things were okay. They weren't the best, but it wasn't bad. Then Kira killed Morgan. That was the final blow. It was like kicking them while they were down. And they didn't get back up. My dad became an alcoholic and died in a car crash, ironically enough." She grinned sardonically. "My mom committed herself while I was sleeping in the same room."

The expressions around the room were shock and horror. L especially focused on Lights face. He looked horrified as well, but was that because he caused it or were his reasons the same as the others?

"So your opinions on Kira and what he's doing?" L prodded, deciding this would be the best time to evaluate Light. He was obviously shaken by her story, perhaps something would slip through his facade.

"I don't blame the justice system for putting my sister in jail. She was breaking the law, and we knew she'd be caught eventually. But, she was suffering her sentence. A sentence decided fairly based on the laws. How could Kira justify killing her?" Anger was seeping into her voice. "How was that horrible enough for her to die? How could that be considered fair?! Kira thinks he's some god or leader, but he's not. He's not human, that's clear enough. But he's not a god or greater than the rest of us! God or human, both are supposed to have at least a modicum of empathy for another person! For someone who was just doing what she thought was best, which is all any of us can ever do." Eira eyed each person in the room, and watched as every single one broke eye contact. All except Light and Ryuzaki.

"But crime rates have gone down. Is it necessarily a bad thing?" Light ventured, not wanting to upset her, but feeling it was a valid point.

She glared at him. "Number wise, no. But how many of these people had families who, despite their crimes, still loved them? Still visited? Laws are there for a reason. Not every crime is horrible enough that people must pay with their lives! But ignorantly enough, Kira treats them all the same! And as proven by my sisters case, he could care less about their reasons for the crime!" Her face was flushed from her rant, but it turned even redder as she looked down. "Sorry." She whispered.

The Task Force was silent, they hadn't encountered anyone who hated Kira as strongly as her. L let the silence continue for a moment longer. Let them consider her words.

"About the recent Kira videos on the news, what do you think?" L took a sip of the tea Watari brought in, then added a rather large amount of sugar cubes.

"I try not to." Eira looked rather annoyed at the subject, and everyone watched her carefully.

"What do you mean?" Soichiro asked suddenly.

"Whoever made those videos is an idiot. Kira has no need for the spotlight. He wants to do everything in secret until the very end. The more secret and out of the way he is, the harder it'll be to catch him. He knows this. But whoever made those videos doesn't, so they can't be Kira. He wouldn't suddenly change his approach like that. I hate thinking about this, because it means a Kira supporter has his powers as well. One was bad enough, but two?" She mumbled the last sentence. The Task Force looked at each other, surprised that she picked up on this as well. Did it mean...? She looked up suddenly. "What?"

"You're quite perceptive." L watched her with his usual wide-eyed stare. "Not many people would pick that up."

She gave a tiny shrug and looked back down. "I pay attention, that's all."

"It takes more than paying attention to be able to come to that conclusion." He was testing her now. Trying to see if she knew the full extent of her abilities.

"Not really. Most people are just too caught up with themselves. They don't take the time to observe."

"This team watched the same tapes, and did not come to the same conclusion. How is that different?"

Eira was silent for a long moment, carefully considering the question. Then: "Watching and observing are two different things."

"Indeed." It was quiet for another moment. "Watari, escort Miss Eira out."

"Of course."


	3. Acrimony

Yet another long wait for an update. Sorry! Luckily, I've planned out the story. However, it's going to be rather sad and have a somber tone. :/ I really like this character and would like to have more happy and fun, but it ends up being serious no matter how I put it. Sorry for anyone who dislikes tragedies. Strangely enough, I really dislike tragedies; yet, I really enjoy this story.

Go figure.

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own Death Note.

xxx

It didn't take long to convince the Task Force to allow Eira to join. Her intelligence was higher than most of them, though still substantially lower than his, and she was a loose cannon. That is, her extremely personal view of the case made it likely that she would try something that would present a danger to both herself and others. Not to mention that having her on her own could interfere with the case dramatically, especially now that Light knew of her existence. To protect her should he be the killer, and this was looking more likely with every passing second, Ryuzaki blatantly stated, "We have taken great care to erase her from all records; to no one but us does she exist."

Something had flickered across Light's face in the millisecond after that phrase, but it was gone instantly.

Days passed, and Eira spent them with the Task Force. She went through all the same papers they did and heard the same speculations from Ryuzaki, but she rarely spoke. She rarely showed emotion as well, even with Matsuda's day-to-day antics. The only times her face betrayed any sign of her inner struggle were when she learned of new killings or the Second Kira. Even then, she'd hide it as best she could.

Eira was there when Ryuzaki told Light he was his friend. She would never admit it to anyone; however, she felt more lonely in that moment than ever before. Even Ryuzaki, who was really L, had people as friends. She had no one anymore; they were all dead or had never existed in the first place.

She had felt elated and so relieved when Misa Amane was arrested. While everyone else in the Task Force felt at least a pang of pity for Misa's confinement, she felt that it was deserved. She was full of hope, though she wasn't sure what she would do once the case closed. There was nothing she could imagine herself doing. She was only living to catch Kira, to ensure he got paid what he was due. After all, she thought, he took so many lives. It would only be fair that he gained as much pain and destruction as he gave.

Hearing Lights phony confession was too much for her however. Once that line slipped from his lips, she couldn't help herself. Eira dropped all facades and let her anger come out full force.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! You knew exactly what you were doing the entire time." She hissed the words through painfully clenched teeth as she approached him. "Don't lie, don't you dare lie. I can see right through you, you arrogant jerk! I know you have something planned, but I don't care!" Her next line was quiet, but it carried a terrible force. "I'll see you burn in hell before I let Kira back out into the world."

And with that, she spun on her heel and marched to the other side of the room. Anger radiated from her very being. The rest of the Task Force was shocked. She had quietly withheld all comments and all emotions before; this was a huge change from her previous demeanor.

Ryuzaki merely chewed his thumbnail thoughtfully, and went back to attending to the details of Lights confinement.


	4. Remiss

Oh god I have no excuse for procrastination anymore. Especially since this has been sitting on my computer for months. I'm so sorry.

Just out of curiosity, how many people have looked at this anyways? I've only gotten one review and it'd be nice to know what other people think, even if its negative.

Disclaimer: I will never own Death Note. Ever.

xxx

Over the days of Light's confinement, the only one Eira would speak to was L. And at first, she wouldn't even speak to him. She would perform what was needed and would often stare at Light, Misa, and Soichiro in their cells; however, she wouldn't say a word and her expression was unreadable. On the fourteenth, her expressionless cracked for a split second as the news of Kira operating again was told. Only L caught it as she abruptly stood and left.

Back in the room L had for her, Eira muffled a shriek of frustration against a pillow. Light's sudden change in demeanor a week ago made her feel sick. Something was different about him now, and not just in what he said. His posture was altered and his expressions were less forced. She didn't know what had caused the change, but it angered her. She kicked the wall as hard as she could, then muffled another cry. Her toe was now throbbing red and, inspecting the wall, she hadn't even made a scuff mark. She clutched her toe and slid to the floor, still magnificently upset at the turn of events. At that video clip and the fact that Kira was killing again. It meant Light Yagami might be innocent. After all of that, she was wrong and L was wrong.

She paused for a second at that thought. L was wrong. She never thought it possible. She had been paying close attention to the Kira case and researched L extensively when he became involved. He had solved so many cases and sent an impossibly large number of criminals to jail. She felt hopeless and furious and despondent all at once when she heard the news and thought of the change in Light's actions. There was no way L hadn't come to the same conclusion as she did. She was smart, but he possessed an intellect far beyond hers. How did he feel? To have been absolutely sure, and then to be most likely wrong.

Eira couldn't hold back her emotions at that time, but L did. That was his strength. He could distance himself, no matter what occurred, until he accomplished what needed to be done. Though that was assuming he didn't distance himself completely, which could also be possible.

She stared at the clock. A half-hour had passed. Pretty soon the rest of the Task Force would leave. She vaguely wondered what they thought and decided she didn't care.

She watched the streets outside of her window until she was sure that they'd be gone. She didn't feel up to dealing with Matsuda or Aizawa. Eira silently slipped out the doorway and into the hall. She padded to where she thought L, or rather Ryuzaki, would be. Her hunch was correct, he was still watching the video feed while munching on sweets.

She sat on the floor next to his seat and she couldn't force herself to look at him. If she did, she was sure she'd cry. He had been her hope for the end of this case, and he was wrong. It was disappointing, but she didn't want to burden him with her grief. He probably knew how she felt anyways.

She really didn't know what to say except "Sorry." It felt appropriate. They were all forcing their expectations on him. Failure was difficult for them all.

"Eira, I apologize as well." She glanced up at him, but his eyes were still on the screens. She knew exactly what was unspoken, 'I failed you.'

She sighed gently and leaned against the chair. Her eyes closed. She wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but something was pressing against her head. She opened them slowly and saw she was in exactly the same position, as was L. "Um, Ryuzaki?"

He looked down. "You're awake. Please don't move your head, there's a bowl there."

She blinked twice. "Uhh... Why do I have a bowl on my head?" He reached down and pulled some colorful candy from it.

"I ran out of table space. I apologize." He didn't sound very apologetic, nor did he attempt to move the bowl.

Carefully, she grabbed the bowl from her head and set it next to her. She then stretched, feeling all the aches and stiffness from sleeping in such a position. She glanced up to see the table almost completely clear. "Liar!" She rebuked him almost playfully. As playful as she ever got.

"Yes, actually it was far easier to reach your head than the table. It was the ideal solution since you weren't moving." He was watching her now, not the video feeds.

"What a lame excuse." She let out an exasperated sigh and put bowl on the table. "I'm not a table on which you can put whatever you like." She grabbed some of the candy for herself before turning away; she didn't know how long she had lay there, but she desperately needed a shower.

"Eira..." Ryuzaki's voice was quiet, but she heard it. "Catching Kira is my top priority. I won't let you down."

"Thanks." She didn't turn around for fear her face would reveal everything running through her mind. Somehow, catching Kira wasn't as important anymore.

When she had finished showering, she attempted to dry her hair. It was a difficult and tedious task due to the sheer length of it. She walked back to the bedroom trying to gently towel dry it, hair-dryers made even frizzier, she noticed Ryuzaki crouching on the armchair. She stopped, but didn't say anything and stared at him.

He didn't say anything either and she tired of the silence. "Hello. Something wrong? Who's watching the video feed?"

Ryuzaki pulled a lollipop from his pocket and slowly unwrapped it as he spoke. "I'm taking a break; the rest of the Task Force is watching the tapes for now. They'll call me if something is amiss."

"Ah." Taking a break seemed weird for him. "How long is this break?"

"Depends on when Watari will allow me back on. He was worried about my health and said it would be good for me. I didn't have to, of course, but it makes him feel better."

Eira hid a smile at this. L may distance himself, but he definitely respected and cared for Watari. As she thought this, Ryuzaki took the towel from her. His hands dwarfed hers and she realized that though the height difference was less with his pronounced slouch, but she was still incredibly tiny.

"You shouldn't be trying to dry your hair with a wet towel." He told her as he held in the funny way he held everything. She realized that she had been so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed.

"Oh... Right." She patted the tangled mess on her head and ran her fingers through it. Nope, a futile effort. Only twenty minutes with a comb was going to fix that knot.

Ryuzaki seemed to have noticed and grabbed her comb for her. He handed it to her and watched her struggle to pull it through. "Allow me to assist you."

He plucked the comb from her fingers and gently pulled it through the without half as much of the effort it took her. She was surprised that he was helping her though. She never would have imagined that he would brush her hair for her. "Okay... Um... Am I missing something here? I thought you avoided having anything to do with people."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, though that's a very callous way to phrase it. But I feel like I owe you something. After all, this case is incredibly personal for you."

It always came back to the case. It didn't surprise her. He had little to no social skills and was a full-time detective in the most literal sense of the words. Still, it didn't seem healthy to have a constant focus on only one thing. She belatedly realized that this was exactly why Watari wanted Ryuzaki to have a break. She also realized that she had been silent for awhile now, drifting in her thoughts. There wasn't much to say and he didn't seem bothered by the awkward silence. In the end, she sat there quietly until he finished. He handed her the comb and the eye-contact put her at ease. He would catch Kira for her and the world or die trying.


End file.
